Roots of the New Year

In antiquity the new year was celebrated according to geography and astronomy. In Egypt the new year was the day the river Nile overflowed. In the Middle East it was on the days of the autumn equinox, that is, the end of September, or of spring, the month of April. The Persians celebrated at the spring equinox; in ancient Greece the celebration was at the winter solstice, that is, the end of December.

The oldest document we have is the celebration in Babylon, which lasted eleven or twelve days and was called the festival of Akitu — a festival with dances and songs to praise nature, which was already beginning to be reborn in spring. Let us not forget that according to the Torah the new year should begin in the month of 'Nisan', which is spring.

The first day of the year in the Gregorian calendar we owe to Julius Caesar, who wanted to begin the new year at the winter solstice and gave this month the name of the god Janus. Janus is the god of beginnings, of endings, of transition, of duality. Janus has two faces, one looking forward and the other looking back. January in English, janvier in French, enero in Spanish come from the name Janus. With his two faces he also represents the year that has passed and the year that is coming.

The Romans believed that if the first day of the year passed happily, the whole year would pass happily. So on this day they gave each other gifts, kissed, embraced, celebrated the day by decorating their houses with green branches of pine, held great feasts and amused themselves with games of dice. All this we know from what the famous Ovid wrote in his book 'Fasti', which is the description of the festivals.

Today, I believe, we are not very far from Ovid when it comes to celebrating the new year. Roads of milk and honey for a new year, with the hope of a universe full of innovations for peace and the well-being of humanity.

Source: E. Bingöl